How to use the ETF Screener
Start from the asset class (the cards under the search box) or type a name, ISIN, ticker or index. Then narrow down with the filters, organised by question — what you’re looking for, what it costs, size and history, how it works, where and how — and for equity and bond funds the filters of their class appear. Every active filter becomes a chip above the results: remove it with one click. The views above the table (Overview, Costs, Structure, Markets) switch columns without losing your filters.
The criteria investors check most, and where to find them here: total cost (TER + KID transaction costs, filter under “What it costs”); the tracking difference, the cost actually realised, on every fund page; size (below €100m the closure risk is higher — hence the amber in the table); age (more history = sturdier backtests); replication (physical or swap, in the issuer’s exact words); and the white-list share for Italian taxpayers. No “best ETF” rankings: the criteria are yours, the data is declared.
Providers in the census
Frequently asked questions
What makes this ETF screener different?
It shows data almost no comparison site exposes: KID-declared transaction costs (a separate item the TER does not include), year-by-year tracking difference, securities lending and the Italian white-list tax share. Every number comes from official issuer documents, automatically re-read every month.
How do you set an ETF’s sector and theme?
We do not infer the sector from the name: we read it from the portfolio the issuer declares in its holdings files, mapping its labels onto the 11 standard sectors. A fund is “sector” when one sector weighs at least 70% of the classified holdings (and the classified part covers at least half the fund); otherwise it is diversified and the filter leaves it out. The theme comes from a closed list of 22 entries (clean energy, cybersecurity, defence, water…), recognised only in the fund or index name — never inferred from the KID, which lists exclusions and risks and would mislead. Sustainability is not a theme: it is the issuer-declared SFDR classification, with its own filter.
What does “total cost” mean?
TER plus the transaction costs the issuer estimates in the KID: the declared annual cost closest to reality. For the realised cost, check the tracking difference on the fund’s page.
Why do some cells show a dash?
Because the issuer doesn’t declare that value, or we haven’t read it from official sources yet. We never invent a number: a dash is honest information, not a hidden defect.
How often is the data refreshed?
The full register is re-read every month from official documents (KIDs, factsheets, listings); KID data is re-checked at least quarterly. Sources and dates are declared on fund pages.
What do active and passive management mean?
A passive ETF replicates an index: it holds (or simulates) the index constituents and follows its return, for better or worse. An actively managed ETF has a manager picking securities autonomously: the index it declares is only a comparison yardstick. On our pages active ETFs carry a dedicated badge, and the “Management” filter (under “How it works”) lets you find or exclude them. The value is the one declared by the issuer or in the KID objectives, never inferred from the name.
What does physical or synthetic (swap) replication mean?
Physical: the ETF actually buys the index constituents (all of them, or a representative sample). Synthetic: the ETF earns the index return through a swap contract with a bank, without owning the securities. Each has pros and cons — costs, dividend withholding, counterparty risk. Our replication guide, with real examples →
What are share classes (e.g. “Class-I”, “EUR Acc”)?
Picture the fund as a cake: one single portfolio of securities. Share classes are the different ways that same cake is served. The portfolio underneath is identical, but each class can have its own terms: one reinvests dividends and another pays them out, one is denominated in euros and another in dollars, one hedges currency risk and another doesn’t, and sometimes even the fees differ. The label you see next to “Class” is simply the issuer’s name for that version, and every house has its own style: sometimes a letter (“I”, “A”, “C”…), sometimes a description (“Hedged” = currency-hedged, “EUR Acc” = euro-denominated accumulating), sometimes an in-house shorthand like “JPM - EUR (acc)”, which reads left to right: the house (JPM), the class currency (euro), the income policy (“acc” = accumulating, “dist” = distributing; “Hedged”, when present, means the class hedges currency risk). The most common abbreviations: “Acc” (or “Capi.”) = accumulating, “Dist” = distributing, “Hdg”/“Hedged” = currency-hedged — “PfHdg” when hedging happens at portfolio level, “Daily Hedged” when it resets every day — and “DR” = direct physical replication. The “I” class often starts life as institutional, but once listed on an exchange anyone can buy it. What really matters is the ISIN: it identifies exactly the class you are looking at, with its currency, income policy and costs. That is why each class gets its own page, and on that page you’ll find the table of “sibling” classes of the same fund to compare them.
What does “hedged” (currency hedging) mean?
Many ETFs buy securities in currencies other than yours: US shares in dollars, Japanese bonds in yen. Their value in your currency therefore depends on two things: how the securities perform and how the exchange rate moves. A “hedged” class uses currency contracts to neutralise most of the second effect: the return you see stays close to the securities’ return in their own currency, for better or worse — the exchange rate neither adds nor subtracts. Hedging is not free: it costs roughly the interest-rate differential between the two currencies, and that cost is already embedded in the hedged class’s return. It is not “better” or “worse”: it is a different risk profile, which is why many funds offer both versions side by side (you can tell from the name, e.g. “EUR Hedged”). A note on bonds: hedging is very common there. Vanguard’s research shows that in bond-heavy portfolios the volatility of currency almost always overwhelms that of the underlying assets — hence their practical rule: hedge fixed income, leave equity unhedged. Some balanced funds (for example LifeStrategy) do exactly that, hedging only the bond sleeve. Each ETF page shows the hedging where it exists. Vanguard’s currency-hedging research (PDF) →
What is the difference between accumulating and distributing?
An accumulating ETF automatically reinvests the dividends it collects: you never see a payout, but the share price absorbs it. A distributing ETF pays them out periodically — and its page shows the full payment calendar, with historical dates and amounts.
What does “white list” mean?
It is the official list of countries that exchange tax information with Italy (Ministerial Decree of 4 September 1996). It matters for Italian taxation because income from government bonds of white-list countries is taxed at 12.5% instead of 26%: if an ETF holds those bonds, the share of gains they generate pays the reduced rate. Issuers certify their funds’ white-list share every six months, and from that we compute the effective rate you see in the screener. The full database, ISIN by ISIN →
Can I buy these ETFs through my broker?
It depends on the broker: each fund page shows the exchanges where the fund is listed (from the official ESMA register) and the available documents with their language. Some funds are not listed on your local exchange or lack a KID in your language — availability then varies by intermediary: check with yours.
Does the census keep a memory of the past?
Yes, by design: every month we don’t just update the data — we take a snapshot of the register and holdings and keep it. Over time, fund pages can show not only what an ETF is today, but how it is changing: a TER raised, an index replaced, a portfolio rotating.
What do “Article 6”, “8” and “9” (SFDR) mean?
It is the European sustainability classification (SFDR regulation), declared by the issuer. Article 6: the fund does not promote specific environmental or social characteristics. Article 8: it promotes them (“light green”). Article 9: it has a declared sustainable investment objective (“dark green”). It is the issuer’s self-classification, not our judgement: we report it as is, and you can filter it in the ESG group.
Are ETCs and ETNs included too?
Yes: the census also covers ETCs and ETNs listed on European exchanges. Legally they are not funds but debt instruments backed by the underlying (physical gold in vaults, or Bitcoin in custody, for example): no UCITS umbrella, and — for Italian tax residents — a notable tax difference: unlike ETFs, their capital gains generally count as “redditi diversi” and can offset carried-forward losses. Other countries may treat them differently. ETF, ETC, ETN and ETP: the differences, in chapter 1 of the guide →
How do I find gold, silver, Bitcoin and other commodities?
Two ways: the asset-class cards under the search bar — “Commodities” and “Crypto” filter everything in one tap — or type directly into the bar (“gold”, “silver”, “bitcoin”, “oil”): the search also looks at instrument and index names. For gold there is also a dedicated page comparing physical ETCs and miners. The gold page →
